The Revolutionaries
The Revolutionaries are a rag-tag band of rebellious subjects from different backgrounds who all possess the same goal of eventually overthrowing The Orestian Empire. Loose and decentralized in their methods but generally united in their goals, the Revolutionaries are roughly divided into two distinct internal factions: the Goblin-led Front de Liberation de Gob, a national liberation movement that seeks to establish an independent Goblin republic, and the Student Revolutionaries or the Freedom and Democracy Movement, a big-tent coalition founded by university students and working-class union leaders in Oresteria with the ultimate goal of replacing the Empire with a democratic socialist republic. Both work together under the larger banner of the United Revolutionary Alliance. The Goblin Rebellion The Goblin Rebellion is the older of the two in this loose coalition. Formed spontaneously in uprisings among the Goblin peasant and working class in the border regions of the Empire, the upstart goblins quickly took up arms and established independent revolutionary communes and militaristic contingents under the eventual overseeing of the National Goblin Coalition, a large "political club" consisting of goblin intellectuals and military leaders ranging from reformists to hard revolutionaries.They have also been joined by halflings and gnomes in their cause, as they hope to make a better world for all. Alpha Campaign Beta Campaign The Imperial Capital The very beginning of the meeting of the Early and Late Heroes featured an apparent raid by goblins part of the Goblin Rebellion. In the beta timeline, Keziah was able to successfully talk down the leader of this goblin contingent from fighting the heroes. However, before the goblins could reveal more information on their rebellion, they were quickly slaughtered by General Brassidas Plyiades. This marks the only time thus far that the Goblin Rebellion has directly appeared to the heroes in the beta timeline. Seeds of Revolution When the Late Heroes reach Hypatia Jones and her contingent of the Student Revolutionaries, the Goblin Rebellion is mentioned in passing as being distantly on the same wavelength as the revolutionary movement Hypatia is a part of. The Student Revolutionaries & the Freedom and Democracy Movement: The United Revolutionary Alliance The Freedom and Democracy Movement, known colloquially as the Student Revolutionaries, is a looser pan-race coalition of working class and petit bourgeois revolutionaries working together under ideology rather than race liberation. Thought to have been formed under secret pretenses in the capital Oresteria and its large university, the Freedom and Democracy Movement has grown to encompass multiple decentralized cells working through different parts of the Empire. Compared to the Goblin Rebellion, the Student Revolutionaries appear to be a newer revolutionary movement, and their biggest challenges lie in gathering funding, resources, people, building dual power against the Empire, and quelling infighting. Hypatia Jones is an officer in the Student Revolutionaries. They appear to really enjoy weed. They are divided into four subdivisions, one operating in each cardinal direction. They also are divided between the social and military leadership, with the overall command of the Revolutionaries being the enigmatic Camilla Evander and the military commander being the stoic Gwaenelle Mael. While the two are friends, conflict has arisen over how to organize and lead their fledgling movement, with Mael suggesting a more consistent guerrilla campaign combined with consolidating and training their forces into legions and corps like the North and the Empire while Evander advocates a more peaceful and long-term plan. Both, however, are in agreement that civilian centres should not be targeted violently (though Mael is firmly in favour of assassinating prominent Imperial politicians and leaders if need be) and that they must never raid from the people for resources. Currently their military strength is believed to be about 165,000 but they are spread out across the whole Empire. It is also believed that they are supported and catered by the popular food restaurant known as Pizza Hovel. The Revolutionaries are often divided into various branches and have numerous affiliated groups, such as the Coalhouses, a band of factory workers and miners and slaves who rallied behind "Coalhouse" Gehhilfe to take vengeance on the cruelty of their Imperial overlords. Gehhilfe also serves as the organizer of the Revolutionary Army activities in Oresteria Alpha Campaign The Alpha Heroes met the Revolutionaries fairly early in the campaign, stumbling into one of their meetings while searching for the then missing Hypatia Jones. They somewhat befriended them (though Lucentio was put off by their whole being and Oakley disapproved of their plan to abolish slavery), they did promise to help in minor ways. When Brassidas revealed his plan to massacre all the Rebels in the city, the Heroes enlisted the help of their buddy Hector Strubbs to spirit them away to safer grounds. They were not really seen for several arcs until the Heroes, now fired by Shiryan due to Hildorfr's anger, ran into a battalion led by Major Hypatia Jones and Colonel Aelinor Morainne. With the help of the heroes, the rebels seized the great border fortress of Flykpol, and convinced the garrison to switch sides. This gave the rebels a clear base of operations and a close trading point with the North. During this time, the brilliant scientists Fabrizio di Coranado and Katayun Delshad joined the growing revolution and brought with them their many new plans and designs for weapons, armour, and vehicles. Soon, the rebels had amassed a large and high tech arsenal and began formally training their troops for open war. They were further helped by slave and gladiator revolts, which brought many willing volunteers. They were even more greatly helped by the suddenly kind and generous philanthropist Liam Garnier and his vast Laboratoire and the many scientists in it. Moreover, with the betrayal of Shiryan by Brassidas, many former Shiryan-loyalists defected to the the revolution, most notably Consul Calgar. Around this time, the Revolutionary Council settled on Utopian Socialism and Republicanism as their guiding ideologies and began to draft their Declaration of the Rights of Life and Citizen to serve as their main set of values and rules. They revealed themselves and entered open war with the Empire at the Battle of Chateau Hapseberg, where they (and the Alpha Heroes) defeated an Imperial host 1.2 million strong with only 200,000 soldiers. Following this, all the major leaders and allies gathered in the Tennis Court of the Chateau and sworn a pledge to upheld their values and to not rest till all where free. This was further aided when they gained the aid of the turned dragon Fourier Cabet Owen Saint-Simon. With this new strength, they have begun to march northwest to Kalik to aid the Northern and Kalikian armies there, liberating towns and gathering allies along the way. At the current moment, the New Model Revolutionary Army of Virtue or New Model Revolutionary Army numbers some 3 million soldiers. These are divided into 15 Corps- 13 combat corps, 1 magic centric corps, and 1 recon and espionage corps. Numerous races and types of people make of their grand movement. While each corps is expected to be generalized and a pinnacle of combined arms warfare (something only Dongxi Lu can boast in it's armies), each corps also is unique for it's own flair and style. Beta Campaign The Search for Hypatia Jones In this arc, the heroes first rescue Hypatia Jones from the clutches of petty criminals who appear to be related to the underground machinations of General Brassidas Plyiades. At the university, Hypatia appears to drop hints about the upcoming rise of the revolutionary movement. Whether or not the revolutionary movement has formed at this time is currently unknown, but at the very least it may have been consolidated among the university students and working-class unionists. Cold Warfare Upon reaching the Northern Coalition and visiting the Council of Twenty in Winterwood, the Late Heroes manage to convince them, among numerous other political tasks, to provide covert funding to the Revolutionary movement. The Council of Twenty, after much violent deliberation, eventually agrees. Sometime after this meeting, it is thought that Keziah has gone to Dixie to raise the gnomes in support for the revolution. The Seeds of Revolution When the remaining Late Heroes are reunited after the incidents in Dixie, The Steel Maiden, Thea Silversprout, Drungpo Khagtse, and Helmut Leberecht von Humboldt-Würtenburg-Hohenstaufen III are eventually rescued by Hypatia Jones and the Student Revolutionaries in the forests north of Dixie. At this point, the Imperial Civil War between the Princess and Brassidas has begun in earnest. Under the diplomacy of The Steel Maiden and the party's large sum of money, Hypatia is able to successfully negotiate a guarantee of a small sum of gold plus the material support of the remaining Late Heroes in aiding the revolution. However, the Steel Maiden and Drungpo caution each other that the revolution is still growing and the Late Heroes must see how it develops before committing further. Helmut is able to semi-successfully cook a number of dishes, and the seeds of revolution grow into the night, with a lot of weed. A local town later becomes under threat of attack, potentially to be slaughtered by the Imperial army as collateral during the war. Hypatia decides to use this event to the advantage of the Revolutionaries, and her soldiers, along with Thea and Helmut, decide to evacuate the town towards towards Chateau Hapsberg under the temporary protection of Lucentio Hapsberg, known in the beta timeline as a rich local noble with a mildly glassed-over stare. After The Steel Maiden successfully diverts away a number of incoving cavalry and Drungpo transforms into her Robert E. O. Speedwagon persona, causing 990 of the soldiers to kill themselves over an immoral sort of diplomacy, the village is successfully evacuated as the heroes find out that these soldiers were in fact part of the Princess' faction. Thea, Drungpo, and The Steel Maiden leave the soldiers and townspeople at the Chateau as they continue their quest to find Atmos Slibard.